It's hard to believe that I've been back for almost a month already. To be honest, most of the time it feels like I never left. And I don't consider that a bad thing, either. I don't want my time here to end. If I'm ever having an off day, I can always count on my host family to bring me out of my slump. In all honesty, they make it pretty hard to be in a slump in the first place.
First I'd like to wish a (belated) birthday to N, my host mum. She unfortunately wasn't home with us since she's in Davos for the week, yet that didn't stop us from celebrating. I baked her a birthday cake for everyone but her to eat. Then we gave her a call on Skype to sing her happy birthday, blow out her candles and eat the cake in front of her. Aren't we kind?
Now a side note on the cake. Since P (host father) can't eat gluten, I figured the cake we all ate in front of N had to be gluten free. Baking without gluten isn't always the easiest thing to do. Luckily enough, I found a recipe for an easy flour-free chocolate cake! I was a bit disappointed there was no picture on the recipe page, but I figured I'd take a picture of my finished product and post it. Then I realized why there was no picture. The cake doesn't exactly look very...edible...straight out of the oven. The "crust" turned out rock hard and looked like it has been shaken with earthquakes from the cake falling so much. Oh, that's why gluten is so important...
In the end, all I needed was some Pillsbury icing (yes, gluten free!) to cover up the mess, and everyone was happy. E even requested I make it again. But not before asking if I screwed it up (he knows about my past baking experiences). I of course answered, yes, I screwed it up. He then said, "Ok, just make sure you screw it up again." Gosh, I love that kid.
E has accomplished quite a lot this past week. He won a tongue twister challenge at school, competed in a ping pong tournament with his best friend (and wasn't too bummed out when they didn't qualify), and has gone on a run every day (ya, a 9 year old that goes running. You'd think I'd be inspired...). To think that he's only 9, is so talented and smart, yet so polite and genuine, restores my faith in the future generation. Maybe we won't all turn out to be useless couch potatoes.
Now as my week comes to an end, I'm very excited to pack my bags, and a borrowed set of skis, because I am off to Chamonix for the weekend to ski with three of my best friends! We're loading up the "Soccer Mom Van" and heading out Friday night. And luckily Groupon had a deal on ski passes, so along with our cheap hostel, it looks like it will be a fairly inexpensive weekend.
I'll be sure to fill you all in on Monday with pictures and stories while I'm lying covered in heat packs and complaining about how sore I am.
Have a great weekend everyone!
I'm so happy to hear that the people you work for are good to you and that the kids aren't brats. People always tell me that I should get an au pair job here in Holland, but it's the horror stories that make me pause, lol. You do give hope. Enjoy your mini-vacation!
ReplyDeleteI read all the horror stories before coming to Geneva, and have heard many from my friends, but I am thankful to say that I lucked out. I honestly couldn't have found a better family. But that's not to say that there aren't many out there. I think the key is to know what you're looking for and be very detailed with your contract. I know some families that have taken advantaged of their au pair because the contract was too vague. But they aren't all terrible. It has been such an amazing experience and I don't want it to end!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the well wishes. The vacation was excellent. And thank you for checking out my blog!